


let it down

by bukkunkun



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Kidnapping, Awkward Flirting, Children, Family Feels, Family Fluff, First-name basis, Fist Fights, Friendly Rivalry, Harm to Children, Long Hair, Multi, Scents & Smells, Swordfighting, aurora and luke are adorable children, basically all i wanted was a fic where des's hair is down, but somehow it turned into this, desmond and hershel need to get themselves sorted out and fuckin confess already, emmy is demanding to assert her queenly status and im not gonna deny her, hello ao3 im back from puzzle hell, i alSO FORGOT, idfk man, im sorry oh god, it's not too bad if you think about it, luke and aurora are ok, they're probably not brothers, with deslay because as much as i love layclive i can't get a good grasp on clive yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 17:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4795238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(let your hair down, let it free)</p><p>“Desmond, was that on purpose?”<br/>“Perhaps.” The man simply replied, and Layton shook his head fondly.<br/>“Really, now.” Layton chuckled. “A little more composure would do you well.”<br/>“Well, Hershel. When your hair’s been ruined after a long while of fixing it, you may get upset, too, gentleman or no.”</p><p>Aurora and Luke go missing, Emmy truly saves the day, and Layton and Sycamore learn a thing or two about each other, while skirting around awkward longing glances and poorly-concealed feelings for each other in the middle of swordfights at thousands of metres above sea level.</p>
            </blockquote>





	let it down

**Author's Note:**

> ok so all i wanted was a desmond-somehow-messes-his-hair-buns-up-and-it-falls-down-in-beautiful-brown-waves fic but somehow it morphed to have semi-realistic plots and emmy altava (queen of my heart, long may she reign) demanded to be amazing as always so i had to oblige my queen and luke and aurora were being cute and it turned into this
> 
> hello ao3 i'm back from (grad school) hell and ready to write hte gay again  
> (i just finished azran legacy the other day, i still cry over the first three notes of any song played at the ending)  
> i'm not sure if this is full-on AU where they're not brothers but at this point idgaf just take the deslays 
> 
> please enjoy this mess it barely actually has plot and matters little but w/e man w/eeeeeeeeee
> 
> dedicated to my dear friend [ziraulo](http://ziraulo.tumblr.com) for egging me on in this trying time in puzzle hell

It was surreal to see Sycamore lose his patience, and while he couldn’t condone his angry outburst, he couldn’t exactly not put Emmy at fault either.

Layton stood by himself, leaning against the kitchen counter of the Bostonius, sipping tea while Sycamore paced around the ship, clearly frustrated. His assistant looked sheepish, clearly ashamed of herself, and he gave her a pitying smile. He gestured at an extra teacup next to his own for her. She gave him a tired smile, and headed to his side, taking a seat heavily next to him to pour herself a cup of tea. Ahead of them, Raymond busied himself with starting take-off. While Sycamore took the moment to fume quietly as he practically trampled over the carpet, Layton took it to think about their current situation.

Luke and Aurora were missing.

Kidnapped, apparently, but it doesn’t look like Targent. Rather, it was something just as worrisome, and if not, even more so.

The two children were taken by traffickers. Sycamore had taken to blaming Emmy for it, but granted, she _was_ the one supposed to be watching over them.

Still, Layton didn’t want to jump to blaming others when stressed.

“Emmy, my dear, it isn’t your fault.” He calmly told her, eyeing Sycamore as the man finally dropped himself down on the couch, still frustrated. Keats sauntered on top of his lap, and for once, the professor could care less if he did. “We’ll find them, I promise.”

“Master,” Raymond chose this moment to speak, “I have found the airship.”

Layton’s eyes widened at that. “That was fast.” He remarked, but followed after Sycamore, Emmy at his heels, to the ship's front where they could see an airship ahead of them, with smoke coming out of its hull. “Is that…?”

“If that isn’t Aurora jamming everything on board like she did to Bronev’s plane, then I’m willing to bet your apprentice did that.” Sycamore smirked. “You picked a good one.”

“I didn’t exactly pick him,” Layton replied, turning to watch Sycamore press a few dials on the control panel. “We’re going in, are we?”

“Yes,” Sycamore replied dismissively, lightly hitting a panel on the wall next to the front window with the side of his fist, and it opened up to reveal a display of swords. “Take one, Professor. Something tells me we’ll be in for a rough time.”

“I truly hope we won’t come to that.” Layton remarked, but took one. Sycamore looked at Emmy expectantly, but she shook her head and grinned.

“I’m quite alright with my own stuff.” She lifted her hands balled into fists, and Sycamore raised an eyebrow at Layton.

“It is as she says,” he chuckled. “I’m sure Emmy will be fine.”

“I promise, Professor.” She said, “I’m going to make up for letting them out of my sight!”

“Very well.” Sycamore nodded, “Raymond. The line, if you please.”

“Yes, Master.”

* * *

“Luke?” Aurora quietly asked, holding his hat close as she watched him fiddle with a few wires. The both of them were covered in soot and Luke had grease stains on his clothes (his jacket he had given to Aurora for her to wear, when she had to tear her shirt’s sleeves to address the wound another child with them) and her hair was a mess. “Are you alright?”

“Never better, Aurora.” The boy did his best to put on a smile for her, and he tugged at some wires again. “Er, I think you’d better back away from this a little. I’m going to cut it.”

“Do you know which wire to cut?” she sounded worried, and Luke paused for moment.

“Truth be told, no…” Luke mumbled, and Aurora looked crestfallen, but he hurriedly backed up. “But I’m sure if we do this then the Professors and Emmy can find us!”

“But we have to be careful.” Aurora thoughtfully said slowly, looking around. “I think we can figure it out. Look up there, Luke!”

The two looked up to see the panel where all the wires connected.

“It’s like a puzzle.” She commented, and Luke lit up.

“You’re right!”

Together they looked through the tangled hodgepodge of wires, and when they laid their eyes on a lone, orange wire, they shared a look.

“I’m not sure, but…” Aurora began, but she was starting to smile.

“I think this might be it.” Luke finished.

Together they tugged on the wire, and it disconnected from the control box.

Somewhere far below them, something exploded, and the plane fell to chaos.

* * *

The line was secured fast like the last time Layton pulled an airship rescue for Aurora, but this time three were set up, one for him, Sycamore and Emmy, and together the three of them boarded the airship. Sycamore landed first, sword at the ready and glaring down one walkway for anyone coming. Emmy landed next, looking down the other side of the walkway, as Layton landed last.

“We’re clear.” Sycamore declared. “We’re going to have to split up, if we’re to find them in this flying heap of junk.”

Layton would have smiled at Sycamore’s snide comment, for it _was_ true that the ship they were on couldn’t hold a candle to the Bostonius, but for the sake of the situation, he simply nodded.

“Professor Layton, please go with Professor Sycamore.” Emmy quickly said, “I think I’ll be better on my own.”

“Are you sure, Emmy?” Layton asked, and she nodded, giving him a wink and a grin.

“I was fine by myself in Descole’s castle at Ambrosia, right?” she asked, “I’ll be okay here. You and Professor Sycamore need to back each other up.”

“Alright.” Layton grasped his hat and nodded at her. “Make it back safely, Emmy.”

“I’ll find a way to let you two know if I’ve found them.” She simply said, and hurried off.

“Come now, Professor. This way.” Sycamore gestured down the other way, and together the two men headed down the rickety rusty metal walkway.

* * *

“Do you think that did it, Aurora?” Luke whispered, as the two, crouched down low, walked along the small service shafts that ran through the engines and the hull of the ship. They had stumbled along the shafts as they were trying to get out from the control room backroom, and with the threat of approaching traffickers, they had to make do with more grime and soot on them. Aurora handed Luke back his hat, and he pulled it on with a little adjustment.

“I suppose.” She replied, just as softly. “I can feel something Azran coming closer.”

“Wow, really?” Luke turned to blink at her, and she nodded, uneasily.

“It feels like one of the aura stones.” She said, “But I’ve only felt it now, like it just arrived.”

“Cor, really?” Luke’s eyes were wide. “Then that means the Professor’s here!”

Aurora looked confused. “How so?”

“Maybe they still have the egg with them, to let us know they’re here!” Luke’s eyes were bright, full of hope. “Come on, Aurora, we’ve got to free the others on this ship too, so the Professors can save _them_ too!”

Aurora blinked at him, “You’d rather risk getting caught again?”

“Well, we can’t just _leave_ them, it wouldn’t be fair.” Luke pouted. “A gentleman always does the right thing!”

She stopped for a moment, considering his words, and in that time, Luke deflated slightly, and laughed sheepishly. “Er, not good?”

“No, I think you’re absolutely right.” She nodded, looking resolute. “Let’s save the other children, Luke.”

Luke smiled at her brightly and nodded. “Right. This way, Aurora!” he took her hand, and led her along with him, and together they weaved their way through the shaft until they went out to the corridor again. “This place looks familiar.”

“We turn left there,” Aurora pointed at the next junction, “I remember.”

“Right,” Luke began, but the two of them froze at the sound of a voice behind them.

“So _this_ is where you meddlesome kids were.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Layton and Sycamore to find company, unsurprisingly. The ship, while not as huge as the Targent ship, was still quite large, and they knew this one had lots of security on it, considering this _was_ a trafficking ship. A shout from Sycamore was the only warning Layton got before goons poured out of a door, all holding some variant of clubs, knives and swords, and the professor was silently thankful for the lack of gun-related weaponry.

“It’s been like ages since I fenced,” Sycamore commented before the brawl began, but Layton didn’t have time to reply to that as the goons came at them one by one.

Without even talking, the two fell into an easy rhythm. Parry, dodge, pass, swing, disarm, and send a warning to the other, before falling into step around each other to take out an incoming attacker. Repeat, ram handle into the back of the neck, or the solar plexus, watch in satisfaction as the man goes down, breathless or unconscious.

The crowd was thinning out, but then alarms sounded, and it thickened again quickly, goons now coming from both ends of the corridor, surrounding the two of them as warning lights bathed their world in red.

Around their feet Layton counted five unconscious men on his side, and four on Sycamore’s. He cocked his head and rolled his shoulders a bit, grinning.

“About not having fenced for a while, Professor,” he said, huffing out his tiredness as he switched his sword hand to his left, stepping aside as Sycamore stepped in behind him, back-to-back as he moved his sword to his right hand. “It shows.” He gestured absently at the bodies once on Sycamore’s side, and the man huffed.

“I said it only felt like ages.” He replied lightly, but he was smiling. “And anyway, it seems they prefer going after you. I _know_ your little apprentice has something to do with it.”

“Oh, I’m sure Luke gave them a—pardon my language—world of hell, Professor Sycamore.”

Sycamore laughed, truly _laughed_ at that. “Please, Professor Layton. At times like this, do call me Desmond.”

“Then allow me the pleasure of asking you to call me Hershel.”

“I’ll take you on that offer.” Sycamore smirked at him over his shoulder. “Hershel.”

“Why thank you, Desmond.” He simply replied, and without another word, they lunged forward, in opposite directions, to clear out their attackers.

* * *

Luke kicked and struggled in the man’s hold as he was easily picked up off the ground, and from the corner of his eye he could see Aurora trying hard to do the same against her own attacker.

“Let us go! You big—mean, stupid—”

“Shut up, kid!”

That earned him a smack to his side, and he let out a whimper of pain.

“Don’t hurt him!” Aurora yelled, before successfully nailing the man in the groin with her heel. He keened over, pained, and she hurried out of his grip to pick up the club the man was carrying.

“Aurora!”

“I,” Aurora looked at the club in her hands, and then back at the man holding Luke, and steeled herself. “I’m going to save you, Luke!” she yelled, raising it, and with a look of steadfast conviction, she ran forward, club in the air, yelling as best as she could.

It was quite a shocking scene, Luke had to admit, but as Aurora brought the club down on the man, that it shocked him enough to hold still for it to land, but it barely made a sound as it lightly smacked his arm.

Aurora looked alarmed, just as much as Luke and the man were, but unfortunately he recovered enough to grab her wrist tightly, making her drop the club with a small cry.

“Alright, that’s enough. It’s back to the cage for you two.” He growled.

“Don’t you lay a hand on those children!”

A club came flying out from the end of the hallway to smack the man cleanly between the eyes, knocking him out cold in a single go. He dropped Luke and let go of Aurora, who quickly helped Luke back up on his feet.

Familiar yellow came into view, and Luke couldn’t be happier to see her again.

“Emmy!” he cried, and Aurora also lit up, relieved, as the brunette woman approached them, arms open.

“Luke! Aurora!”

The two of them rushed to give her a warm hug, one she quickly reciprocated, squeezing the two of them tightly with an affectionate hum. “The Professors were so worried about the two of you!”

“We knew you’d come for us!” Luke smiled brightly. “Aurora said she felt something Azran come our way.”

“Oh, that was my idea.” Emmy winked, pulling out an Azran egg out of her coat pocket. “I wanted to let you two know we were coming.”

“Thank you,” Aurora smiled at her shyly, and she chuckled, and stroked the girl’s hair.

“Right. We’d better get you two out of here.” She declared, but Luke and Aurora shared a shocked look, eyes wide. “Luke? Aurora?”

“There are other children back there,” Aurora began.

“We’ve got to help them, Emmy! We can’t just _leave_ them!”

Emmy looked at the two of them, biting her lip in confliction, but eventually she ceded. “Alright. Let’s go to where they’re being held and set them free. I saw a small airship in the hangar on my way here, we’ll get them in there and we’ll be out in a jiffy.”

Aurora and Luke nodded wildly, and together they took one of her hands each and pulled her along the corridor.

It didn’t take as long as she expected for them to get to the end of the corridor, where much to her horror she saw a quite literal cage holding no less than ten children inside. To a small amount of her relief, Emmy saw that it was at least huge—almost like a room, but the fact the children were in cages stabbed at her heart. This wasn’t right.

The children inside saw them approaching, and hope filled their eyes. Emmy’s gut churned. They all hurried to the bars, reaching for her, Luke and Aurora, and she saw that one of them had cloth the same colour as Aurora’s shirt tied around her arm. So _that_ was why she was wearing Luke’s jacket, she thought.

“Luke! Aurora!” they were calling.

“We told you we’ll come back for you lot!” Luke cheerfully grinned.

“A-and we brought help, too!” Aurora added.

These two were such good kids, Emmy thought. They were _wonderful_.

“Alright,” she declared, rearing back and rising on her toes, bouncing slightly. “Stand back, all of you. I’m going to break that lock!”

The children moved to the back of the cage, and Luke and Aurora stepped back. She took a deep breath, and rammed her heel into the lock with a roundhouse kick. It fell apart easily, and the door swung open. She smiled, relieved, but it quickly disappeared when an alarm bell suddenly rang, and their world was bathed in red.

“Bollocks,” she hissed under her breath, where no one could hear her. “Alright, everyone—after me!” she called, louder, and headed back down the corridor, a crowd of little children running after her.

One of the younger children—a little girl, with scraggly brown hair—grasped her finger, and she looked down at her frightened little eyes. She smiled back at her, and the girl’s small hand squeezed her finger slightly.

She was going to get _all_ of them out, she swore to herself. None of them would have to live in fear again.

* * *

“Desmond, watch out!”

Sycamore only barely had a moment to dodge before a knife flew at his face, pinning him to the wall as it dug deep in creaking metal. A fine line of red ran along his cheek, and he could feel his hair slowly loosen, and the curl on the left side of his face tumbled down freely, freed of the small ribbon he used to tie it up with.

“Damn it,” he swore under his breath, and he pushed off the wall to knock his assailant out cold. “Thank you, Hershel.” He panted, irately flicking his long hair back over his shoulder. “Ugh, that took me forever to get up. Now look at what you did.” He scowled at their attackers. “All of you are going to _pay_ for that.”

His eyes were dark, nearly flashing red, and Layton had to admit that the man _did_ look rather frightening.

“Hershel.”

“Yes, Desmond?”

“Let’s finish this all off. We have the children to look for, after all.”

“Er, yes. Quite.” Layton flicked his sword, pointing it at the nearest goon. “I apologise, gentlemen, but we _are_ on a mission for some precious cargo.” He adjusted his hat and coolly stepped aside again to be joined by Sycamore, who was tugging at something in his still-intact curl. “So if you please, good men, let us right through.”

With a definitive tug, Sycamore’s other curl came undone, and it tumbled down in long brown waves, and from it, that sweet scent of Sycamore’s cologne. Layton had half the mind to admit it was rather distracting.

Sycamore reached behind him to tie his hair in a ponytail, and lifted his sword when none of the goons moved a muscle.

“I do believe my friend here asked you all of something.” He deadpanned, “Or should I start counting how many of your men are on the floor because of us?”

His eyes _definitely_ flashed red, Layton could swear, but it certainly packed the punch Sycamore was hoping for. They immediately parted for them, and calmly Sycamore headed onward, stepping over unconscious men. Layton followed at his heels, tipping his hat kindly at them as he passed, before hurrying after Sycamore.

“Desmond,” Layton spoke up after they were a considerable distance away from them. “I didn’t know your hair was that long.”

“Yes, well, I _do_ keep it up and out of way.” Sycamore looked off to the side, almost _embarrassed_ , and Layton smiled at him kindly.

“If I may, it’s rather pretty.” He said mildly, and in the darkness and red lights blaring around them, he didn’t know if Sycamore reaching up to cover his mouth with his free hand was to hide a blush he couldn’t see, or to hide the grin he was poorly concealing from him.

“Yes, well. I, er,” Sycamore was at a loss for words, but the sound of clamour coming from beneath them broke the awkward air between them. “What was that?”

“It came from the hull.” Layton declared, gesturing for Sycamore to follow after him. “This way.”

The two men hurried into a doorway leading to stairs, and just for that brief moment, Sycamore thought Layton had reached out for him to grab his hand.

* * *

“Alright, children! In you go!” Emmy called over the blaring of the alarms, waving them all into the small airship in the hangar. “We’ve got to hurry, come on, come on!”

“Where’s the Professor, Emmy?” Luke asked her, slightly panicked, while Aurora helped the other children into the airship. “And Professor Sycamore, too. Aren’t they with you?”

“We split up to look for the two of you faster,” Emmy replied, “I… well, I certainly wasn’t expecting the other children to be here.” She looked distressed, “I don’t know exactly how to meet up with them again.”

“Emmy!” Aurora screamed, “Behind you!”

Emmy was quick to react, and she promptly kicked her would-be attacker in the face.

“Get in, you lot!” She yelled, as quickly more men filed into the hangar. Aurora quickly picked up the last child—the little girl that held Emmy’s hand as they ran—and hurried into the plane. Luke ran in after her, and the door slammed shut behind them.

“Alright.” She huffed, settling into an offensive stance. “Just _try_ to get past me.”

One lunged at her, and she dodged to the side, kicking him in the back to knock him aside. Another swung his dagger at her, and she sidestepped to thwack him in the back of his neck. Emmy grabbed the rickety railing beside her to vault her up to land on a man’s back. The pipe snapped off as she took off, and when she landed, she looked at the metal in her hand, perplexed. She brushed it off quickly, though, jumping off the man with a kick, twirling the pipe in her fingers expertly and thwacking a man with it on her way down.

“You’re all a little wet behind the ears!” she grinned at the three men left. “So how about it, boys?” she asked, beckoning them with a ‘come-hither’ gesture, but she was surprised to see two of them fall to the ground, unconscious.

Behind them were Aurora and Luke, each holding a club, both looking absolutely determined.

“Well, alright.” Emmy grinned, before looking straight the last man standing. “How about you, then?”

He hesitated for a moment, and decided to simply run off. When he was gone only did Emmy relax to grin at the two.

“It was Aurora’s idea,” Luke chirped, and the Azran girl blushed. “We found some clubs inside the ship. The others have all settled in now.”

“Excellent,” Emmy nodded, brushing off imaginary dust off her shoulders. “Come on, then, you two. Let’s get you both cleaned up when we’re back in the Bostonius and I’ll get you both some ice cream for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

“Brilliant,” Luke grinned widely.

“That would be wonderful,” Aurora smiled in agreement, and Emmy grinned at them both, patting their heads, when the door to the hangar slammed open.

Immediately Emmy got into a defensive stance, covering both Luke and Aurora as best as she could, but when she saw that familiar top hat come into view, she relaxed.

“Professor Layton! Professor… Sycamore?” she slowed down upon seeing the man with his hair down, blinking confusedly. “… I’m sorry, but who—?”

“It’s me, Emmy.” Sycamore flatly declared, absently flicking a lock of his hair over his shoulder. “No need to be so shocked.”

“But Professor—”

“Professor Sycamore!” Aurora cheered, as Luke nearly cried, “Professor Layton!”

The two hurried to them, and in a rare moment of affection, Aurora hugged both men. Luke followed her example and squeezed into the hug from the side. Layton laughed fondly, moving back to accommodate him, and for that moment, Sycamore’s sour expression melted to one of relief as he hugged the two children.

Layton was the first to pull away to address Emmy, but he did not push Luke away, who still clung to him and Sycamore both, looking a little more desperately relieved than Emmy saw him first.

“Emmy,” he said, resting a hand on Luke’s hat. “What are you three doing here?”

“We found some other children.” She said, “We’re getting them out in there.” She gestured at the ship behind her. “I was just about to go look for the both of you, since I didn’t exactly want to leave the two remaining non-Targent Azran experts here.” She chuckled. “That, and Luke and Aurora would terribly miss you both.”

“I doubt you’ll be able to safely pilot that, either.” Sycamore quipped, finally smiling next to a relieved-looking Aurora. “Come on, then. I’ll take care of flying. Let’s all get back to the Bostonius.”

Emmy giggled at that, agreeing, and she hit the release button for the exit door.

The wind filled the hangar, whistling loudly in their ears, and Emmy herded Luke and Aurora quickly into the plane, Sycamore and Layton in tow, to be greeted by the sounds of cheering children. Aurora and Luke made a beeline for them, excitedly chatting with them with Emmy watching on with a fond smile. Layton and Sycamore headed to the cockpit, and settled in a seat each, Sycamore taking control as the main pilot, Layton following his instructions for pre-take off preparations.

“I think we’re ready,” Sycamore declared. “Hershel, the gauge.”

“Desmond—someone’s closing the hangar doors!”

Emmy’s head whipped around to look at the two men out front, surprised at their casual exchange of first names, but she ignored it for the time being to take the club Aurora was holding.

“Let me just borrow this for a minute,” she winked at her, “But I don’t think it’ll come back, sorry.”

“She can have mine,” Luke offered, and the children launched into discussions about presents between them.

Emmy hurried to the plane door and threw it open as Sycamore lurched the plane to one side.

“Be a little careful, Professor!” she called over the wind, “I’ll get the door.”

Emmy took careful aim, and with a swing of her arm, she threw the club to hit the button for the door, smashing it.

“I’ve got a hit!” she laughed, “And they won’t be closing that door for a while.”

“Excellent job, Emmy!” Layton called from the cockpit. “But my dear, please shut the door.”

She did as she was told, and as soon as she did, Sycamore sped them out of the hangar. It tore a surprised yell from Emmy, who lurched from her spot at the door to smack against the opposite wall.

“Emmy!” Luke cried, rushing to her as she crumbled to the floor, and Aurora was right at his heels, the other children also rushing over to see if she was alright.

“Professor Sycamore!” she yelled instead, and the man gave her a small wave.

“Sorry about that, we had to hurry.” He replied, and she rolled her eyes.

“He did that on purpose.” She pouted, lowering her voice to speak conspiratorially to the children. “What do you lot think?” she grinned, and they all voiced their agreement.

Luke and Aurora helped her up, and soon she sat in their circle with them, and they were all happily chatting away as Desmond flew the plane towards the Bostonius.

In the cockpit, Layton looked over his shoulder at them and smiled. Sighing, he turned his attention back to Sycamore. “Desmond, was that on purpose?”

“Perhaps.” The man simply replied, and Layton shook his head fondly.

“Really, now.” Layton chuckled. “A little more composure would do you well.”

“Well, Hershel. When your hair’s been ruined after a long while of fixing it, you may get upset, too, gentleman or no.” Sycamore flicked his hair back over his shoulder, and sighed. “This is why I keep my hair up.” He grumbled.

“Well, I have to say that it does suit you, you know.” Layton commented, “When it’s down, I mean.” Casually he turned his attention to the buttons before them to allow Sycamore the decency of not seeing the flush he was sure was crossing the man’s face. “But by all means, keep it in the bun, if that’s what makes you comfortable.”

He wasn’t about to admit that Sycamore’s sweet scent was more obvious that way.

“Yes. Well. Er.” Sycamore cleared his throat, and tried again. “Thank you for your consideration.”

“Quite.”

They fell into an awkward silence, the chatter of the children and Emmy fading to background noise, which was broken on Sycamore’s declaration, “I’m going to contact Raymond.”

Layton reached for the communications control switch, only for his hand to land on top of Sycamore’s. The two of them stopped, and pulled away like their touch burned.

“Er, um…” Sycamore looked flustered, and if he knew any better, Layton also looked the same. They avoided each other’s eyes, and Layton let the man press the button himself.

“ _Master_.” Raymond’s voice spoke through the line.

“Raymond. Er, we seem to have a few more passengers with us.”

“ _I’ll begin my preparations upon landing._ ” The butler replied. “ _The nearest town we can land in is Kohd._ ”

“Very well.” Sycamore swallowed, “I’ll see you at the landing spot, Raymond.”

“ _Fly safely, Master._ ”

The line cut, and Sycamore and Layton saw the Bostonius detach the three ropes from the trafficking ship, and flew at a higher altitude. Sycamore flew their plane closer, and followed the Bostonius to their landing site.

Upon landing, Emmy and the children were all already waiting at the door. Sycamore opened up for them to hurry off to the Bostonius, and he and Layton followed after them at a more leisurely pace.

“You were worried, weren’t you,” Layton said as they walked calmly together. “About Aurora.”

“Yes.” Sycamore quietly admitted. “I have to say, she… she reminds me of my daughter. I can’t help the attachment I have to her.”

“I can’t blame you. Aurora is a sweet girl.” Layton smiled as she watched her walk alongside Luke, still clutching at his jacket. “I can confess that I was similarly worried for Luke.”

“That’s rather understandable. He is your godson, right?”

“Yes.” Layton sobered up. “We will have to place a call to Scotland Yard for these children.”

“I’ll ring him up from the town.” Sycamore nodded, his curls, now loose, bouncing with his movement. A gentle wind blew against them, and the ribbon tying his hair slid down and off, setting his locks free. They flowed smoothly in the breeze, easy as leaves, and with a half-pout, Sycamore tried to get his hair back under control.

Layton caught himself staring before Sycamore could.

“Good, good.” He said, tearing his gaze away from Sycamore as the man tucked his hair behind his ear. “I’ll… go talk to the children.”

“Right.” Sycamore hesitated, and Layton took the moment to start walking away. “Wait, Hershel?”

Layton stopped, and half-turned to look at Sycamore, who still had his hand in his hair, keeping it behind his ear with a palm against his temple.

“I…” he paused, “Er. Please tell Raymond where I’ll be.”

Layton took a moment to realise what he said, and absently he nodded, tipping his hat out of habit more than anything, and blankly watched Sycamore walk away. He didn’t even realise Emmy had come up to stand next to him until he heard her chuckle.

“E-Emmy.”

“So, the two of you are on a first-name basis now, are you?” she asked, and Layton averted his gaze from Sycamore’s retreating back to look at her.

“What? No—er, yes. At least, in less-than-professional situations. Like earlier, when we were fighting in the bridge.”

“Hmm.” Emmy hummed thoughtfully. “And that time when your hands brushed in the cockpit.”

“Emmy.” Layton sighed exasperatedly, and she laughed kindly.

“Alright, alright, Professor.” She grinned behind a fist. “Come on, then. The children want to see their parents again, and Luke and Aurora missed you.”

Layton followed after her without another word.

* * *

Sycamore returned that evening with home-cooked fish meals from the locals, and all of them tucked in. Layton was grateful the Bostonius was as large as it was, because with their sudden influx of passengers—14  _more_ children—they were going to need the space.

Raymond, bless him, had managed some mattresses and sheets for the children for their stay that night, and Emmy had procured new shirts for both Luke and Aurora, alongside with saltwater taffy for all the children on board.

That dinner was quite an event, with all the children around, nearly evicting Layton and Sycamore from the dining area altogether as Luke and Aurora chatted with the children. Emmy was being quite the big sister to _all_ of them, sharing stories well into the night, and the Bostonius was filled with the sound of laughter and merriment.

When the children finally settled in bed, only Layton and Sycamore remained in the bridge talking idly about nothing over a cup of Earl Grey on the couch. Emmy emerged from the hallway, looking tired, but happy.

“They’re all in bed now.” She reported, “Even Luke and Aurora.”

“Wonderful.” Sycamore nodded, and Layton offered Emmy a cup of tea, which she took with a grateful sigh. She took a seat in the armchair across the two men, sipping the cup with a sigh.

“What did the Yard say about the children, Professor?” she asked.

“Well, this is more of an international problem.” Sycamore replied, “I had a chat with Grosky and it seems we’ll have to drop them off at London, and the authorities could take care of them and bring them back to their homes.”

“That’s good.” Emmy sighed, melting further into her seat. “To think they had all those kids in there. In a huge cage, even.”

Layton and Sycamore paused at that.

“I beg your pardon?” Sycamore asked.

Emmy looked at them, distressed. “It’s as I said. They were in a cage, Professor.” With a sigh, she sat up. “They were in such a terrible place. I’m glad we’re able to save them.”

Layton and Sycamore shared a look. The thought of Luke and Aurora in there sent an unpleasant churn to their guts.

Emmy yawned, and slowly got up. “I’m sorry. ‘M heading to bed.”

“Have a good night, my dear.” Layton nodded, and Emmy set down her cup on the table before leaving. He and Sycamore fell into comfortable silence for a while, before he spoke again. “It was wonderful having all those children in here.” He said, and Sycamore hummed, nodding.

“Yes. It’s never been this noisy in the Bostonius before.” He wistfully replied.  “It’s a pleasant change.”

“Hm.” Layton stopped for a moment, and watched Sycamore twirl his hair around his finger. “Desmond, are you alright?” he asked softly.

“Alright? About what?”

“Aurora. The children.” Layton crossed his legs and leant back in his seat so their shoulders were touching. “Ever since Luke and Aurora were taken you’ve been rather… sour.”

“Well.” Sycamore paused, and sipped his tea again. “I was… worried. Like I said.”

“Are you alright now, though?”

“I’ve calmed down, considerably.” Sycamore turned to look at him, and minded very little about their proximity—not close enough to be indecent, but closer than what was deemed professional. “It’s been years since I’ve been with children. It’s more of a nostalgic feeling now than a melancholic one.”

“That’s good.” Was all Layton could reply.

“Still. Rachel—that was her name—she loved playing with my hair.” Sycamore didn’t know what made his tongue this loose, and he blamed it on the tea, rather than Layton’s genuinely concerned expression, clear as day in his eyes. “She would braid it, brush it—I would let her do whatever she liked with it.”

“Is that why you keep it that out of the way?”

“I didn’t want to keep reliving what I’ve lost—but I can’t let go of my past. Not yet.”

“I understand.” Layton quietly agreed, absently thumbing the rim of his hat. “I’m sorry if I pressed you wrong in any way.”

“No, it’s alright.” Sycamore sighed. “Hershel, I just wanted to tell you.” He paused, “I named her after my mother.”

Layton looked sympathetic, and Sycamore accepted his pity wholeheartedly. They stayed quiet for a moment, their sides now pressed together as they shared warmth, and Layton felt something soft brush his shoulder. He turned his head to see a lock of Sycamore’s hair smoothly glide onto his shoulder, and with a gentle sort of grace, he twirled it between his fingers.

The movement caught Sycamore’s attention, but he did little to react—not even moving as Layton threaded his hair between his fingers.

The silence was broken with Layton’s gentle words.

“It’s soft.”

Sycamore didn’t know what to reply to that.

His fingers brushed the injury Sycamore got on the bridge, and his wince broke the fragile calm between them.

“Oh, I—” Layton pulled his hand away, and a flush crossed his cheeks. “I apologise, Desmond, I… shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, Hershel, it’s—it’s fine.”

The two of them stared at each other, and it was Sycamore who was first to cave.

“I… need to go to bed now.” He said lamely. “Good night, Hershel.”

He got up, and headed for his room, hyperaware of the fact Layton was watching him, but he dared not look, else he gave... whatever it was he was so afraid of giving away. He reached his door quickly, opening it without a sound, when he stopped.

“… Good night, Desmond.” Layton replied quietly, and Sycamore simply nodded, and headed inside, shutting the door softly behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> IM REALLY REALLY SORRY MAN,,,,,,,,,,,


End file.
